At 8:30 p.m., seven attendees, talking cheerfully, circled a table cluttered with beer and wine glasses.
One woman spoke proudly, announcing she and three others were Libertarians and currently outnumbered Republicans present at the restaurant.
However, when Republican County Chairman William Ellis arrived, the numbers were again equal.
Ellis walked in smiling. He held the final election results, and, instead of bemoaning losses, he talked about the successes of the campaigns.
“We had over 3,000 more people turn out to vote than in 2011,” Ellis said. “There’s always a chance to win. We’re still competitive.”
Ellis credited phone calls made by campaign staffers as part of the reason for the turnout of voting Republicans. He also said he sensed a community interest in having a government that was more politically diverse than it currently is.
That explained the write-in candidates that showed up on the ballots, he said.
A write-in candidate is one who is registered with the government as eligible to be voted for, but whose name will not show up on the voting ballot.
Scott Tibbs was a write-in Republican candidate. When he arrived at Crazy Horse, he entered quietly but received loud applause and cheering once people noticed he was present.
He registered as a write-in for City Council, member at-large, in June when he noticed that only Democratic candidates were running for council.
“I would have run as a Republican, but I can’t commit the time,” Tibbs said. “I have a one-year-old and a three-year-old. Maybe in 2019.”
Tibbs said he was frustrated by the lack of choice for voters. Registering as a write-in was his way of correcting something he said he felt wasn’t right.
“My goal was to give people a choice,” Tibbs said. “I would have liked to do better, but I accomplished what I set out to do.”
Tibbs received 281 votes out of 20,637 for the position.
Dave Nakarado, a libertarian who ran for City Council District 1, said it can be hard for conservatives to run with their ideas since they aren’t as “flashy” as some are.
“It’s a little more old-school — we’ve got to worry about the streets, about the trash pick up,” Nakarado said. “It’s not shiny.”
Nakarado, clad in a gray-plaid shirt and carrying a tall glass of beer, said he knew he ran on less-glamorous principles.
“I had multiple people say they came out because I was running,” Nakarado said. “I’ve been told, ‘you should run as a Democrat, you’d get elected.’ I’m not that type.”
At 9:30 p.m., nearly 15 Republican and Libertarian party-members and supporters drank and talked in the back room of Crazy Horse. Snippets of conversation regarding ‘next time’ arose from various tables.
“Republicans are not ready to give up yet,” Ellis said.
